Review hotels for a cooperative website

The raw amateur looking to get paid to travel may consider writing reviews for a cooperative website. You won't break even -- expect to lose several hundred dollars on that 5-star hotel review -- but there's no reason not to grab a bit of cash back. Sites like ReviewStream.com offer a steady $1.50 per review, though you can find better gigs on Craigslist.

Work on an organic farm

Room and board are covered.

Difficulty: Anyone can do it

Green thumb travelers may work a few hours a day on participating farms in exchange for accommodation, home-cooked food, and a great way to see the land. Although the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms does not pay for travel costs, WOOFers don't mind hiking or hitching a ride.

Become a transportation secret shopper

Earn $30 plus cost of ticket.

Difficulty: A hassle

After wading through scam sites and paperwork, certified secret shoppers can find work in any sector, including travel. You won't have much control over when and where you travel, but you will get there for free and get paid for easy work. For instance, you could have been one of the secret shoppers who recently flew around England and exposed discrimination against disabled passengers.

Test medication

More jobs like this are out there if you search medication testing sites. For every new malaria drug, hundreds of people of patients get to travel around the third world and try it out.

Deliver someone's car

Cost of gas is covered, maybe more.

Difficulty: Harder than it used to be

A classic gig that faces growing obstacles from car insurance, driving someone else's car is a cheap way to travel and great excuse for a road trip. Find someone who offers to pay for motel stays on a long trip, then sleep in the car and pocket the difference. Don't bother applying unless your own driving record is perfect.

Become a tour guide

Earn $40 per hour when certified.

Difficulty: You have to be qualified

Certified guides earn impressive wages for sightseeing with groups, especially if they find work as long-term escort. Uncertified guides can also earn money by snaring on tourists. At tourist hotspots like the Coliseum, however, police will check your license if they see you talking to a group.

Teach in a foreign country

Earn $1,000 per month, plus cost of flight.

Difficulty: Lots of work

Anyone who speaks English can get a job teaching English abroad. TEFL certification and an impressive college degree may be enough to secure a position that pays travel and accommodation, as well as salary. The best-paying jobs are in kindergartens and boarding schools, according to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. If you want to stay mobile, you could probably find work as an English tutor at the drop of a dime anywhere in Asia.

Spread the word of God

A lot of missionary work is unpaid and requires fundraising in the church community. But it can pay well if paired with an educational program (like the $2,000/month job we found). Alternately, you could travel far and wide as a bible salesman.

Become a flight attendant

Not as glamorous as it used to be, this job still has many perks for those who like to travel. International flight attendants often get to spend the night and maybe a day in a foreign city. They also receive great discounts on personal flights. If you want higher pay, think about becoming a pilot.

Research destinations for a travel guide

Cost of travel is covered, plus royalties.

Difficulty: Tons of work

Researching destinations for a guidebook is the brutal variety of travel writing. Researchers bolt from hotel to hotel and hit up dozens of restaurants and bars a night to collect facts and write short paragraph summaries. Pay is down in recent years due to competition from websites and less interest in the ruminations of travel writers. But hard working writers can still make a living, according to Lonely Planet's Simon Sellars.

Deliver someone's boat

Earn up to $400 per day.

Difficulty: Few are qualified

Someone's got to move that million dollar yacht from Back Bay to the Bahamas. This sweet job belongs to delivery captains, a job you can get with a good enough sailing resume and a good enough price. Coast Guard certified master captain Steven Wiseman, for instance, offers to beat all other professional captains' bids to deliver a boat.

Become a hardcore mileage runner

Earn enough miles to buy another flight.

Difficulty: High

Mileage runners book long and inexpensive flights to run up maximum miles. They scour travel sites for ticketing errors and special deals that give them insane mile payouts. They dream of the famed round-the-world flights. For some milerunning ideas, check out the forum at Flyertalk.com.

Trade specialty goods

Potentially lucrative.

Difficulty: Potentially dangerous

We're not saying you should transport a station wagon full of cocaine across the border to Texas, though if you did you would be paid richly. The legal approach is to be a modern-day Marco Polo. Pick up artifacts from craftsmen in the outer regions of the world and sell them for a nice markup to stores and collectors.

Be a talking head on a cruise

Free cruise and speaking fees.

Difficulty: You have to be famous

Professors at rich universities can offer their services as a talking head on a cruise for alumni. (Pictured is A J.Meyer Professor of Middle East History at Harvard University Roger Owen, who lead an alumni group in the Mediterranean earlier this year). Celebrities and other luminaries can also offer their services on various cruises.

Write a literary account of your travels

Potentially lucrative.

Difficulty: Probably not lucrative

Write the next Green Hills of Africa or Innocents Abroad, you'll earn a fat check in royalties and contracts. More recently, Eat, Pray, Love was a cash cow for writer Elizabeth Gilbert. An established author or travel writer can travel to their destination of choice with all-expenses paid and a paycheck in the works. Of course, many travel writers will never get published and never see a cent from their essays.

Make a bet

Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Potentially lucrative.

Difficulty: Potentially costly

Phileas Fogg bet £20,000 he could make it around the world in 80 days, and that was in 1872. Fun and lucrative bets are still out there, if you think you can beat travel time expectations.